X marks the spot, but it did not mark the Wheel of Fortune board on the episode that aired Tuesday, Nov. 10. A contestant named Nura stumped host Pat Sajak when she made some rather peculiar letter picks in the final speed round.
When it was her turn to select a letter to try and solve the puzzle, Nura declared confidently, “Z.”
“Say that again for me?” a baffled Sajak replied, likely echoing viewers’ confusion over the pick. “Did you say ‘Z’?!”
“As in Zulu. Z,” the contestant replied matter of factly.
“You did say ‘Z’! Uhhh, no, there’s no Z,” he confirmed.
But the mind-boggling selection of rarely used letters didn’t end there. When it was her turn again, Sajak quipped, “I wonder what letter Nura will call?”
“X!” (Yes. She really said X when the second word of the puzzle — which was X free — was quickly becoming apparent.)
“X. There is no X,” the befuddled host mustered.
Nura, who seemed stumped by the puzzle, also missed two other opportunities because she couldn’t decide on a letter to call before the buzzer went off. (Did we mention the theme of this particular board was “What Are You Doing?” So appropriate!)
Viewers were equally confounded by what she was thinking the answer might be, and shared their disbelief on Twitter.
Z? Then no letter? Then Q? Is Nura drunk? #wheeloffortune
— Mike H. (@hardware2k) November 11, 2015
WHY IS THIS LADY GUESSING Z, X, AND Q FOR THIS PUZZLE? #wheeloffortune
— Breanna Van Egdom (@breannave) November 11, 2015
Not surprisingly, another contestant, Steve, solved the puzzle. But regardless of her struggle in the speed round, Nura correctly solved enough of the puzzles from earlier in the evening to earn a whopping $13,970 and move on to the final bonus round.
“May I ask you a question?” Sajak said as he congratulated her on the big win. “You called some unusual letters that round!”
“That’s what I saw!” Nura explained.
Regardless of what she was seeing in the puzzle that viewers didn’t, she’s the one taking home a fat cash prize.
Though she played the round in a way that seemed to make little sense, some viewers are surmising that perhaps she did it to share the wealth. After all, the long-running game show is currently honoring vets with its first ever Veterans Week, featuring both active and retired members of the armed forces. Were it not for Nura's strategy, whether on purpose or not, Steve would have gone home empty-handed without the speed round win.
Just saw the classiest move on "Wheel of Fortune." Nura threw the final puzzle to let a fellow military person win it. Much respect.
— Jeremy Pond (@JeremyPond) November 11, 2015
Way to go Nura! #wheeloffortune never saw someone throw a round so everyone could win some money. #share
— Retro Rager (@retrorager) November 11, 2015
Watch the video above!
